Although I do love the NP life, it comes with occasional pitfalls. I have written extensively about the amazing opportunities the nurse practitioner career has brought to my life. I earn an excellent income, have a flexible schedule and a career where I am constantly learning and challenged. Like any job however, the nurse practitioner career presents occasional difficulties. Check out my guest blog post for HEALTHeCAREERSdiscussing the challenges of the nurse practitioner career.

As a nurse practitioner, I feel like I have it pretty good. Now that I have a little experience under my belt, my work-life balance has achieved an unprecedented harmony. I earn an excellent salary but don't take my work home with me once I leave the hospital; I have plenty of time to pursue activities and relationships outside of work. My stress level is at an all-time low and I can genuinely say my life could not be better. Studies indicate that physicians, however do not feel the same.

The American Academy of Family Physicians published an inflammatory report last month mocking the nurse practitioner profession. Citing a lack of education and competence, the AAFP is taking a stand against nurse practitioner's ability to practice independently upholding the physician as the sole professional capable of adequately caring for patients. Is this a sign of a primary care turf war breaking out?

So you’re looking for a job as a nurse practitioner? You’ve heard that there are great employment opportunities for nurse practitioners, but for some reason you still can’t seem to get your job search strategy down. You’re not alone. And if you’re like the many nurse practitioners looking for a fresh start, you need to stand out from the competition. From filling your resume with keywords to using the tools at your disposal, here are five tips to help power your nurse practitioner job search.

Most of us treat a large (no pun intended) number of obese patients. After all, obesity breeds high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease leading patients to seek medical treatment from physicians and nurse practitioners alike. One physician in Massachusetts, however has banned obese individuals from her practice telling patients she will not treat people weighing over 200 pounds.

Have you ever wondered how you rank compared to the rest of the 155,000 members of the NP population? Do other nurse practitioners make more or less money than you? Do your fellow NP's treat more patients than you? How old are you compared to other nurse practitioners? Let's find out!

In the ER, I observe the making of many end of life decisions. Often, the patient is unable to speak, think or make healthcare decisions for themselves so the providers do so for them. Do we intubate this 95 year old patient to keep them alive artificially or not? We don't know what they would have wanted. Keeping certain patient documents in your EHR helps in making critical decisions for your patients. Which documents should you keep on file?

The nurse practitioner role is constantly growing and changing. Treating over 6 million patients each year, NP's are gaining more recognition and independence across the country. But how did the nurse practitioner profession begin? Let's take a look at our roots.

As all NP's know, once your patient leaves the office it is up to them to comply with your medical recommendations. Take it or leave it, you are not going home with them to administer their medications three times a day. Or are you? A new 'smart pill' promises to measure and report medication compliance.

Reports of how physicians feel toward nurse practitioners are conflicting. On one hand, nurse practitioners save physicians time and money in their practices. On the other hand, there is concern of a 'turf war' between NP's and physicians as legislation increasingly allows nurse practitioners to open their own practices across the country. Ultimately, how do physicians view the nurse practitioner profession?

You are in a crunch. Your recertification is coming up and your continuing medical education (CME) allowance is tapped out. Sounds like you need some free online CME options. Which websites offer the best continuing education opportunities? Here are our top 5 picks.